Rise and Shine Smoothie

Hi Friends,

Well it’s that time of year again you know the time I’m talking about, the time where you say this is what I am going to accomplish this year and at the end of the year you look back and realize, hmmm, I didn’t stick to my New Years resolution.  Heck, I don’t even remember what they were!   Well this year I am really, really going to try!!  I’m putting it out there, so I am accountable and on occasion I’ll check in with you to see if I’m making my goals.   But my first goal is to be realistic!!  Thats a tough one!  I don’t want have champagne dreams on a beer budget so I’m going to try to keep it real!

Goal #1 to focus more on me and less on my blog.  I spend so much time on the computer that my butt is growing and I am not exercising as much!  I sit 8 hours a day at work, than come home and sit on the computer.  Oh I do stand to cook, but I don’t think that counts!   However since August I have gotten a little better about it, which leads me to goal #2.

Goal # 2 Exercise more!!!  I’ll be honest with you, I put some weight on in 2012 and I am so upset with myself that it depresses me and when I’m depressed I eat!  I have to stop that!!  So my goal for 2013 is do more cardio, at least 30 minutes 5 days a week and do strength training 3 times a week.  I figured about 45 minutes of exercise a day.  I can do that!!!  Which brings me to my crunches before bed.  I used to do 100 crunches before bed and then I stopped.  It may not do much, but I felt better and I plan on doing that again!!

Goal #3 Stop mindless munching!  I get bored or lonely and I eat.  I need to keep busy and stay out of the kitchen.  I think it’s because I eat low calorie meals, that I tell myself, I didn’t eat that much at lunch so I’ll have this to snack on, and bam I over snacked and blew my calories for the day!!  This is going to be my hardest goal for me to reach!!  Instead of reaching for snacks, I’m going to have hot decaf tea.

Goal #4 Cut back on coffee – Eck!!!!  This is going to also be hard, but I’m not giving it up!  I’ll have one cup in the morning and one Frappe after work as my treat.  I realized when I did my 4 day detox, which was no coffee or caffeine,  I lost 4 pounds instantly.  I know it’s the coffee.  Coffee is good for you, but it does bloat you!

Goal #5 Try to limit processed foods – I’m pretty good at this, but lately I have been reaching for popcorn chips and tortilla chips, way to much.  If I do have them, then I am going to portion them out ahead of time, so I don’t keep reaching in the bag.  Sounds tedious, but it works.

Goal #6  Get back to my 3, 4, 5 diet!   Which is 300 calories for breakfast, 400 calories for lunch and 500 calories for dinner with two 150 calorie snacks during the day.  This helped me lose my weight originally and I need to get back to that!

Goal #7 Get involved in something in my community that helps others.  I don’t have very many Friends here in CA, and it’s hard making new Friends especially at my age, so I thought if I get involved in something in my community and I’ll meet other people who have the same things in common with me.

Goal #8 Save money!  Ha ha This is a goal I have every year and it doesn’t seem to work, but I need to put it on my list.  I have gotten a little better.  I remember posting last year that I would put $200 away a month to go towards my dream vacation, which is going to Hawaii, well I did do that, but ended up paying for a trip to Las Vegas instead, plus I’m taking Jenny to Las Vegas next month for her 21st b-day, so my money ended up towards other vacations.  After this Vegas trip, my next one needs to be Hawaii!!  But we shall see, I get an itch to travel and Vegas is cheap and not that far, so I always end up there.  What can I say?  I love the weather, pools and slot machines.  I’m horrible, I know!!

Goal #9 Start working in my garden.  Since I started blogging I started to neglect my garden.  I need to get back out there and pull weeds, mulch and trim.  Nothing feels better when you look out your window to see a plant that you planted grow.  Plus I want to extend my vegetable garden.  This year it got neglected at the end because of the massive tomato plants that took over.  It was like a jungle in there. and I couldn’t get to my veggies.  This year I’m going to plan it better!!  Nothing tastes better than homemade vegetables!!  Yummy!

Goal #10 to look forward and not to look back at my errors and mistakes, but to look at 2012 and think of what I have accomplished and not what I failed at.  I want to bring in 2013 with a positive, happy feeling because I know it is going to be a great year!!   Speaking of positive and happy, let’s get to today’s recipe!!

This recipe is my Rise and Shine Smoothie.  I wasn’t sure what to call it, but I thought it was perky and fun and would make for a nice start of the day and a great start to the New Year.  This smoothie has a tropical flair with the pineapple, orange juice and coconut milk.   It’s a wonderful fun combination of fruit and I love the two-tone color.  It certainly put a smile on mine and my Husbands face.  I can picture drinking this on a beach somewhere with some fresh croissants, ocean breeze slightly blowing and blue skies with the sound of the ocean in the distance.  I’m a total dreamer.  :)  I think my Hawaii trip is calling me!

Since I’m still on my New Years resolutions lets take a look back at 2012.

2012 was a year of ups and downs for me!  But I’m not going to dwell on the negative and just look at the positive and all the wonderful things that I did accomplish in 2012.  Here are  a few positives that I am most proud of:

• I was in Health Magazine
• I went to Europe for the first time and saw the Eiffel Tower
• I wrote all the Nutritional Facts for the Trader Joe’s Lunch Box Cookbook
• I went to my first blogging event and met wonderful people who are now my Friends
• I made 2nd place in a Trader Joe’s Quinoa recipe competition
• I upgraded my blog to self hosting and did it on my own, I never cried so much, but felt such a wonderful accomplishment when I actually did it!!
• I actually made it 3 times in FoodGawker and 3 times in TasteSpotting and they were each different photos.  Funny how one excepts a photo and the other doesn’t.  That was a huge deal for me because I have been working hard on trying to take better photos.  Speaking of photos I have to apologize for today’s photo’s.  My Husband is still working in the kitchen and I’m photographing on a tiny table in my front room.  It’s not easy and the lighting is horrible, so my apologies.

Well that’s it, I think I chewed your ear off long enough.  I’m going to attempt cooking in the kitchen, ha ha with my Husband working 3′ away from me.  This is going to be a challenge.

Happy New Years!!!

Toodles,

Jennifer

P.S.  What are your New Years Resolutions?